360 The Religions of Ancient Egypt and Babyloniaarbiter of fortune, but its interpreter and seer. He learned from
them how the laws of the universe were going to work, what
destiny had in store for it, and how, therefore, it was needful to
act. It does not even seem that his prevision extended beyond a
[393] year; at all events, when Bel of Nippur had yielded up his rights
to Bel of Babylon, we are told that the latter had to sit each New
Year's day in the mystic“chamber of the fates,”determining the
destiny of mankind during the ensuing year.
The victory over Tiamât was followed by the assignment
of particular posts in the sky to Anu, Bel, and Ea. This again
harmonises but ill with the cosmology of the preface to the poem;
but the astronomers had long since divided the heaven between
the gods of the Babylonian triad, and the honour of first doing so
is accordingly assigned to Merodach. Then comes an account of
the creation of the heavenly bodies—
“He prepared the stations of the great gods;
the stars corresponding to them he established as
constellations;
he made known the year, and marked out the signs of the
zodiac.
Three stars he assigned to each of the 12 months,
from the beginning of the year till (its) close.
He established the station of Jupiter that they might know
their bounds,
that they should not sin, should not go astray, any one of
them.
The stations of Bel and Ea he fixed along with it.
He opened gates on both sides,
he strengthened (their) bolts on the left hand and the right;
in the middle he set a staircase.^312
be“the flesh of the gods.”Professor Zimmern even suggests (Beiträge zur
Kenntniss der babylonischen Religion, p. 91) that Urim is to be identified with
the Assyrianurtu, a synonym oftertu(tôrâh),“instruction”or“law.”(^312) Compare the“ladder”of Jacob (Gen. xxviii. 12). A similar staircase or
ladder is represented on the conical or egg-shaped stone which symbolised the